Editorial

Too late to sell your home this year? Not even close

Summer has ended, and you might be wondering if you’ve waited too long to sell your house this year. Here are some facts to help you decide.

While the peak selling months for residential home sales fall in the May-August period, the simple fact is home sales occur in every month of the year at varying levels. Of the 9,717 homes which closed in the last 12 months, 32 percent of those fell in the September-December time frame.

To break it down further in the most recent year we saw: September delivered 9 percent, October 8 percent, November 7 percent and December 8 percent of the total sales. These sales amounts ranged from 701-879 homes per month compared with a June 2017 high of 983 closed units.

In the not too distant past, it was perceived that all families moved during the summer months, when children were out of school. This simply does not hold true in today’s residential market.

Since our winters are mild, the home-shopping season begins immediately after the first of the year and continues into the holiday season. The internet allows home shoppers to preview properties regardless of temperatures or weather conditions as well.

There also are many reasons a real estate transaction is necessary regardless of the month or season. A few to consider include birth (the owner has outgrown the home), age (the owner no longer needs the space or is unable to live independently within it) and change in financial position or job (both positive or negative can force a move).

Another factor that motivates many house purchases and sales are marriages and divorces. None of these factors are tied to school calendars or seasons of the year.

Because of the age-old perception that spring and summer are the best time to sell, many homeowners have held off entering the market until the following year. This habit has lessened the number of potential new properties coming to market and thus reduces the overall supply.

With less supply and fairly stable sales levels, a fall or winter seller actually has less competition than the peak spring and summer seller. In our current sellers’ market, this might provide further advantage to home sellers this fall and winter.

So, now that you have these facts, you can see that it’s not too late to sell your home this year. Call on a professional member of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors to prepare a market analysis of your home. They can give you insights into what your home might be worth and how long it should take to sell this fall or winter.

The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors is “The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanooga.” The Association is a regional organization with more than 1,800 members and is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. GCAR services Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. Information: www.GCAR.net.